10 Year Blogaversary Giveaway Winners!

 

Midweek hello and blessings wished to you my Friends! 

It's a pretty and snowy one here in the northwoods. Looks like we're getting a few more inches of the fluffy stuff today and it makes inside feel extra snuggly. And it's not nearly so cold today - which is so nice!!

Well last night I gathered up the names. Put them in a dish and my handsome helper Hubby (say that 5 times fast 😂) drew our winners! I just want to thank you all again for all the love and support during these years of my blogging. Many of you have become true friends and I cannot say enough how grateful my heart is for that. And for this wonderful space that I've not only found a sisterhood of support & friendship, but also a space of true artistic expression as a homemaker and a mother. I love it here so much and I hope to have many years of blogging ahead🙏🏻💗

Thank you also for the lovely and kind wishes you expressed to enter the drawing too! They all went to my heart. 😍 Ok, now the moment you really want to know....who are the winners of the 3 prizes??

Here are all of the names and the bowl of them all ready to go:

And here is my adorable helper - all ready to lend a hand. Or at least I told him this had to get done before dinner. 😉

And this is for winner number 1 that will receive these prizes:

The little bookstore kit, the peony bouquet and the starbucks gift card

Here he goes....

And the winner is:

Next up is winner number 2 that will receive these prizes:

the planner calendar, 2025 metal bookmark and a starbucks gift card

He reaches in and grabs our 2nd place winner which is.....

And our final draw which is for these prizes:

the peony bouquet and a starbucks gift card

And that final winner is....

Congratulations to Julia, Jules & Debbie!! 🎉😁

I hope you will love your prizes! Now I just need you to send me an email at: cbeargroup15@gmail.com so I can get your address information to send your goodies!! 

Thanks again for all who entered, and for all of your sweet wishes. I'm so grateful for you all! I hope you have a wonderfully cozy day✨

xoxo

Happy Homemaker Monday

Hello and happy Monday Friends ~

And happy Martin Luther King Jr. day. It's so nice that Matt doesn't work today, so it feels like an extra long weekend. Starting a Monday sipping coffee and watching morning news together was a treat. :) 

I hope you had a cozy and restful weekend. We did over here. We mostly cozied in because of the cold weather (teens below zero) other than to go to church and run some errands.  On Friday night we snuggled together in the living room in front of the fire listening to music by candlelight and fire flow and reading. It was so wonderful! 

Saturday night was fun as we scratched off one of our date night ideas that was one you could do at home. (Matt gave me a fun date book for Christmas a few years ago) It's fun for shaking it up now and then. It suggested to revisit our youth and for dinner to eat one of our favorite childhood snacks or meals and watch a favorite childhood show together. So we did just that and it was so fun and filled with lots of laughs! Matt's snack was "chips & cheese" which he said was where he would grate cheese onto a plate of doritos. Then microwave it a little. And dip the cheesy chips into salsa. And he picked the show Saved by the Bell - so we watched an episode of that. My snack was cereal (cap'n crunch to be exact) and I chose an episode of the Muppet Show. It was one of my absolute favorites in grade school! Lol It was all pretty hilarious and brought back so many other childhood memories we both enjoyed sharing with one another. 

We also watched lots of football. I bet you're happy about those Chiefs Jean! Wow, was that a nice TD by Travis! And always nice to see Taylor cheering him on. 😉 Matt and I are already talking about and making fun plans and a menu for the Super Bowl ahead. Do you watch the Super Bowl and like to make fun plans for food or time with friends?

**And just a reminder that I'm doing my 10th Blogaversary Giveaway Wednesday and you only have through tomorrow to leave a comment.  Please go back to that post, check out the prizes and enter! You can find it if you click here.

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS:

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE THIS MORNING:

 Coffee with protein creamer and some almond milk, a little piece of kringle. We grabbed some to be a treat throughout the long weekend. It's so good! 

ON MY TO DO LIST THIS WEEK:

errands, home projects, help my Mom with some things, dinner with a friend, grief work from home and at the facility, home projects

THINKING ABOUT:  

What we're going to do this afternoon for some fun together. Probably play some cards and maybe watch a movie, as it's still so cold outside....which is a bummer because it would have been so fun to go walk on the frozen bay.

AS I LOOK AROUND THE HOUSE

It's nice and clean and always looks so empty without the tree up. Listening to some Celtic music and I'm going to head into the kitchen soon and make up some chicken salad for our lunch.

CURRENTLY READING

not sure of my next book yet?

ON THE TV TODAY:

When Calls the Heart, Virgin river, All Creatures Great & Small, The Rookie , Miss Scarlet, Shifting Gears, some movies taped & HGTV shows

ON THE MENU THIS WEEK:

    MONDAY - leftovers from the weekend (meatballs, chicken, veggies & protein dip)

TUESDAY -  pinwheel pork chops, roasted sheet pan of veggies with balsamic glaze

WEDNESDAY - pho soup with chicken, crackers, fruit

THURSDAY - cheese pierogis with grilled onions, salad

FRIDAY - maybe out for dinner?

TO RELAX THIS WEEK I WILL:

 work on our wedding scrapbook I'm making, watch a movie, maybe bake up something?

TIPS OR SOMETHING TO SHARE:

❤️❤️❤️

FROM THE CAMERA:

pretty sunset:

clean and bright living room and no more Christmas tree :(

our cozy night by the fireplace when the wind was howling outside (it has been SO COLD here)

That night I made us mugs of homemade cocoa on the stovetop. I'll share the recipe later this week. 

We got in some snuggly naptime over the weekend too :) 

Feeding the birds brings other critters too. 

PRAYER LIST:

 For an end to the conflicts all over the world and anyone living in war & fear. For peace and unity in this country, especially from hate and shootings or violence.  For anyone sick, suffering, in pain, fear, loneliness etc ... that God bring them comfort and peace. For all those affected by the wildfires in CA and for the firefighters working so hard. 

For Christ's Light and Love to cast out the darkness everywhere and help the world find its way. 🙏🏻

PRAYER, INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE OR DEVOTIONAL:

Have a great week ahead Friends! I'm sharing this with Sandra of Diary of a SAHM for Happy Homemaker Monday.

10th Blogaversary Giveaway!

 

Happy weekend to you! 

I can't even believe I've been blogging for 10 years already! It blows my mind that it has been that long. As I mentioned prior, my actual blogging anniversary was November. But I always get so busy with the holidays and never seem to remember to acknowledge it until January. Lol 

I remember back all those years ago to being someone who loved to read others' blogs. Especially the moms/homemakers I could relate to. I was too shy to comment though. And I remember thinking I could never blog because no one would be interested in anything I would share. 

Then finally one day in November 2014, I got up the guts to create a blog and start posting and join in this special "world". And I've never stopped...other than a few long breaks when I needed them. So now, here, after averaging over 6,000 views a month according to my stats (sure lots of bots in there)...  I am celebrating 10 years in Blogland!! This is a place I love and where I treasure so many friendships I've made through years! 🙏🏻💗

So today I thought I'd do my annual giveaway, but with 3 prizes instead of my usual 1 or 2. More chances for you to win - yay!! 

Here is a look at the prizes and details about each:

The first person that is picked will be sent a dream of Spring in the form of a 3-dimensional peony paper vase & bouquet. A little book store kit (kind of like the one I have on my bookshelf from this post here.) And a Starbucks gift card for a cozy coffee or tea you can sip when you're admiring your own cute book case and flower bouquet. 💐

I love how beautiful and dimensional these bouquets display. I've had several through the years and just love them! And the nice thing is you can fold it back up and use it again next year. 💗

 A little closer look at the book store/cafe kit

The 2nd person picked will be sent this lovely Katie Daisy 2025 planner. I always love the artwork and details in them. And a pretty 2025 metal bookmark. And of course a Starbies gift card too. 

Katie Daisy planners are always so pretty and such a helpful tool to stay on track. I love that it has a whole month layout to jot down important dates. But also a week by week layout where you can write out specific plans. And spots in between to jot down notes. And again, the artwork and sayings are so pretty! 

And I thought this sweet bookmark might come in handy for any avid readers. I love teh saying on the front. And the back shows that it has a cute metal chain that will hang out of the book with the year and a little feather. 😍

And the final person picked will get a pretty peony bouquet and a starbucks card as well. 💝

All you have to do to be entered is leave a comment below. Feel free to just say hi. Or maybe happy 2025? Or share your thoughts about blogging? Anything kind and appropriate will get you entered in the drawing. You don't have to be a blogger! And then you'll just need to be willing to share an address if you win - so I'll know where to send your prize.  Since I'm posting this so late in the week (basically on the weekend) I will wait until Tuesday to do the drawing and give more time for friends to enter early next week too. I will do the drawing Tuesday evening and announce the winners next Wednesday. 

I treasure this space so much. And I adore all of you friends...especially those that visit regularly and have shared so much with me through the years. 🙏🏻💗  There is such a Sisterhood here. Thank you so much for the past 10 years and all of the kindness you've shown me. Cheers to many more blogging years ahead together! 🥂✨

Good luck to All❣️

xoxo

Valentine Sweets and Blogaversary Giveaway Sneak Peek 💝

 

Hello Friends! 

How's it going today? I hope you've been having an amazing week so far. And if not, at least the weekend is right around the corner, right? Glass half full always. 😉

Today I'm popping in to share some Valentine's inspiration. I know it's several weeks away yet, but I have a mix of winter and valentine decorations all over my house. And it's getting me in the mood to think ahead to some fun treats for me and my Sweetheart. 💘

It started with finding this adorable puff pastry love letter idea on instagram:

Which then led me to go down the pinterest rabbit hole a bit and find some other fun goodies. So here is some inspiration I found and you can find each item and their sites if you click on my pinterest Board "Be Mine" which you can find here.

Also, I made and posted about these bars years ago. You can find them under my recipe tab or if you click here.

I hope this helps give you a little inspo for you and your sweetheart(s). 

*************************

Further, I thought I'd share that I now have a plan for my blogaversary giveaway! I will try to do a full post with details on the goodies tomorrow or this weekend. And I will do the drawing next week. 

Since it's my 10th Blogaversary, I will be giving away 3 separate prizes! So be sure to stop back and enter, as I adore you all and you're all sweethearts in my book 💗💗💗

Wordless Wednesday